No financial details of the planned transaction have been disclosed at this time.

Completion is expected to follow during the first quarter of fiscal 2018.

The acquiror made the announcement via a blog post, as part of which it cited increased interest in improving visibility, security and response capabilities within the information technology field as a factor in the decision to buy the business.

Cisco added that combining the companies will enable it to extend its StealthWatch threat detection application into the cloud and continue its move towards a software-centric offering.

Upon closing, Observable Networks will become part of its new owner’s security unit, which is headed up by David Ulevitch.

The target’s technology makes use of endpoint modelling, a form of security, and is used by clients in the financial services, energy, healthcare and retail sectors, among others.

Observable Networks has received a number of funding rounds in the past, the most recent of which closed in May 2016, when it secured convertible debt financing totalling USD 2.00 million from MK Capital Company.

Previous investors have included DH Capital and Vectis Healthcare & Life Sciences Fund, with all investors to exit the business if Cisco goes ahead with the planned acquisition.

The buyer’s most recent purchase was announced in May of this year, when it agreed to pay USD 610.00 million in cash and assumed equity awards for San Jose-based software-defined wide area network technology developer VIPtela.